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write your own review of the TenTec Hercules II.
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W4CSC
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 20, 2009 21:30
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honest 650w after cleanup
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Read the reviews of my fav mobile amp I've had for years. Once you get the "cheap" out of it, like feeding 100A through a cheap Molex connector, and getting rid of the 5A pushon connectors inside it's a great amp. Remove all the pushon DC wires and replace with fine stranded high power car stereo cables. Two 60A fuses in rear air plenum in holders. #0 cables from here to battery. Same from fuse block to central power distribution board. SOLDER to tabs cheap 5A pushons came off of and solder heavily all DC traces/tabs on this board. Solder #4 from this board to each of the 4 amp boards, heavily. Amp draws 120A after improvements now running on 13VDC, not 10VDC from Molex and pushon wires. DO NOT CONNECT TO SCREWDRIVER MOBILE ANTENNAS as they will be destroyed. Homebrew bug catcher has big coronas at top on 40M down....(c;]
73 DE W4CSC/M4
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W9VNE
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 2, 2008 08:38
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works as advertised
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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i bought mine used about 2 years ago . . no issues at all . . . by accident i have used an improper antenna several times with a horrible SWR indicated as expected . . . i did not blow any finals as was reported in a prior evaluation review (below here) . . . i use it with an Omni
VI+ and it works great on CW QSK which all i operate . . . it puts out 550 watts as advertised
if you need a medium sized amplifer for CW it is very difficult to beat . . . it just works . . I have been on the air for 55 years and have owned and operated many amps and this is one of the best . . it is a MEDIUM output piece of gear . . if that is all you need (550 watts) then this is for you if you can find one used. I use a pair of Astron 70 amp supplies (220v.) to power the amp. That is about $600. I find the pair of Astron power supplies do an excellent job of powering this amp . I see them being sold on Ebay all the time. Do a local pickup if you buy for Ebay so you see what you are paying for. I would think a steal is $750 for a clean one and $850 would be my top dollar . .
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WW0AL
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 17, 2007 13:21
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Doesn't get any easier
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought a used Herc II on ebay in terrific condition. This is my first amp... and what could be easier? No tuning... and a dependable 500 watts. When I forget to switch bands, no output, but no other dramas. I'm using a Astron 70 AMP power supply, which handles 500 watts just fine. The total package (amp and power supply) cost me $1,000 which is barely more than a new tube amp would run... and I can QSY at will instead of spending all my time tuning.
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W9ZX
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 8, 2007 21:39
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wonderful amplifier
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Like another reviewer I purchased my first Herc II new in 1994. I liked it so well I bought my second new one in 1995. I still have both of them and would not consider selling either one. Neither is used mobile and both get a fair amount of use in my shack. They are extremely quiet so its much like operating a 500 watt transceiver. Over the years I think each one has been back to Tentec once. They are simple to operate and not nearly as cranky about SWR like most other solid state amps. I recommend the Herc II without reservation. I can't imagine why Tentec quit making them.
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WA1RAW
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 30, 2007 05:46
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The Big Easy!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Purchased new in 1994 with Ten-Tec remote head and power supply. After 12+ years Herc II ownership and 40+ years exp with other amps (BTI LK-2000, Collins 30s-1 30l-1, Drake L-4b, heath sb-220, Henry 2k-4 3k, Kenwood tl-922, Nat'l ncl-2000, etc.) I now feel qualified to write a review.
When most people walk into the shack they ask where the amp is, thanks to the Herc II remote head, which is the best thing since sliced bread. Rarer than hens teeth, but worth every cent...if you see one, buy it!!
The amp itself has never given me a problem -- not one, ever. Absolutely reliable. Totally broadband coverage with no tune up required. Just switch the band switch and transmit 500+ w! It has good self-protection circuitry, so hamfists, such as myself have no worries. Don't hesitate to buy one if you can find one!
The power supply (90-100 amps at 12vdc) is compact and has never given me any problems whatsoever. You can run the amp on a car battery (deep cycle only) if you wish, so it would be easy to use the amp either mobile or maritime, but I haven't done so. I just use the amp at home. The power supply is a nice accessory to have, but not absolutely necessary, depending on your requirements.
The tiny remote control head is a little gem, and a work of art!! Just switch the band switch and transmit!! Again -- buy, buy, buy, if you can find one!
Cabling these 3 ten-tec pieces together couldn't be easier, and I've never had any problems interconnecting the amp with non-ten tec equipment.
This amp and its accessories are any easy 5. My only recommendation to any potential buyer is to just check the amp out prior to purchase.
If Ten Tec were to start manufacturing the Herc II again they'd probably sell a million. A smart buy!!!
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KO0Q
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 26, 2007 21:09
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Excellent Unit
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have owned a Hercules II about a month and it works flawlessly. I purchased the Ten Tec 311 Band Data Converter to connect the amp to my Orion II for remote band switching. I've never used a tube amp, but this solid state amp is about as easy as it gets to use.
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K3SRO
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 25, 2006 10:18
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great amp, very quiet, well made, good value for the dollar
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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It is too bad that Ten Tec does not make the Hercules II any longer. It was a pricey amplifier, but it is well made, quiet and takes up little desk space. The only problem with this amplifer is that you need a hefty 80 amp P/S to operate it. It can be used with a marine battery, but maintaining a charge on the battery is annoying. Care should be taken when operating this amp indoors with a marine battery system (battery fumes). The 9420 P/S (100 amps) was a nice option to power both the Hercules II and a Ten Tec HF transceiver, but it was an expensive option. The amp will usually have a maximum output of 500 watts with the exception of 10 meters. I use my Hercules II with the OMNI VI+ and the auto 253 antenna tuner. It makes a great auto 500 watt station. The internal fan on the amp is whisper quiet too.
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HB9AZT
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 11, 2005 02:19
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Best Amp for remoters!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I use this amplifier for a internet remote operated station together with a kenwood ts-2000. It's a very stable and reliable amp and brings up to 600 watts with about 50-70 watts input. It has a very nice feature for remoters: bands are switchable via external relays, so just connect it to the band output of a microham interface and you have the perfect amp for a remote operated station. It has also an output for the fault marker of the protection circuit, so you can check any faults via a web i/o-device. The harmonic suppression is excellent, i measured more than 50 dB. If you find one, don't hesitate to buy it!
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KD6WD
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 13, 2005 09:47
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Excellent, wish it was still made.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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About 2 months ago I purchased my first Hercules II amplifier with the Tentec 100 amp power supply. I liked the amp so well I purchased a second Hercules II.
I also have the Titan III amplifier. I moved to Florida about 2 years ago. Little did I realize you can get a heart transplant or kidney transplant quicker than you can get an electrical contractor to run a 220 volt line.
So I used my AL811 amplifier for a while. Even though the al811 is the best bang for the buck, it in no way compares to the Titan III. So I purchased the Hercules II. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. I hooked it up to a 35 amp hour sealed lead acid battery and that puppy puts out over 400 watts on only 28 watts drive. And after continual comments on how clean the audio was from over 300 stations I felt this was a real keeper. I have since added a second gel cell of 35 amp hours and an 10 amp automatic battery charger. This combo keeps every thing running for 4 hours of heavy rag chewing. The side benefit is that the harmonic suppression on this amp is so good it doesn't get into the tv, the portable phones, etc. The amplifier is well protected if you fire it up on the wrong band or have extremely high swrs.
In my opinion it beats the dickens out of the ALS-500 and ALS600. You won't have to send this amp back for several repairs. Tentec in their wisdom set the amp up with plenty of headroom. 500 watts with 8 MRF458's left plenty of room for higher swrs with out damage to the devices. I am not trying to knock Ameritron but in my opinion they should have setup their ALS-500 for about 400 watts max and had a similar reduction on the ALS600.
For you guys with the 5 watt qrp rigs (817) you will love this amp because you get out about 100 watts with 5 watts cw.
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KR4JA
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 11, 2005 06:58
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If you can find one, buy it!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Found a mint one-owner Herc II and bought Larry�s (N8MIS) interface logic kit. Great combination with my Icom Pro II. The amp band-tracks with my Icom on 160M-10M. I run the amp with a pair of 100Ah Deep Cycle Marine AGM batteries hooked in parallel and a Battery Tender Plus 6A automatic charger. It�s nice to have an instant 500W while my TenTec Titan is doing it�s 3 minute warm-up. The Hercules II is a very well built amp, nothing comes close in today�s market, with the possible exception of the SGC-500.
It seems the Hercules II was an amp made �before it�s time�. I would think that with the popularity of today�s Icom radios (Pro, Pro II, Pro III), along with the N8MIS logic interface kit which will also work with the IC706 by changing the din plug, and the vast improvement of HF mobile screwdriver antennas over the last 5 yrs, the Herc II + Icom + N8MIS interface, would be an ideal HF mobile setup. If you can find a Herc II, get Larry�s kit while he still sells it, you will be very pleased.
73, Dave
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